Chelsea co-owners Behdad Egbali and Todd Boli have controlled massive spending since taking office. Credit: Getty Images/Clive Rose
The Premier The League has requested written assurances that the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund was not involved in the takeover of Chelsea by Todd Boli and Clearlake Capital, Telegraph Sport understands. , were examined during directors and owners tests after Roman Abramovich sold the club in May 2022.
However, while rival clubs have privately raised concerns about the sudden interest from the Saudi Pro League in a plethora of Chelsea players, English senior management are believed to be fully satisfied with the absence of conflicts of interest.
Telegraph Sport confirmed several sources that PIF has invested in Clearlake, and this was widely discussed during the tests for ownership of the new club last year. Details were provided to the Premier League at their request to “fully confirm” the club's proposed ownership structure, one insider said.
Clearlake and Boely then confirmed that the PIF is “not part” of the property. structure, and further assurances were given to the league that PIF “will not and cannot” be an investor in the future.
Gary Neville was among the figures in the game calling for Saudi Arabia's big spending this summer to come under scrutiny, while one of the top clubs says teams are using the Saudi Pro League as an “FFP jail break card” so far the state takes action. £500m.
Authorities, however, are not alarmed by the league, which already signed Karim Benzema this summer and is now turning its attention to Premier League goals.
According to the Telegraph Sport, a contest organized by the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Investment Fund, was in London this week to close a host of deals following the acquisition of H'Golo Kante, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of June.
Only Chelsea are believed to have initially received an offer of five players worth over £100m, although one of them, Romelu Lukaku, has since turned down the offer. Negotiations for Hakim Ziyech, Kalid Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are at various stages.
The Premier League handbook already has a fair value protocol that clubs must follow, and Chelsea sources say the interest in their players is purely transactional in nature and is linked to the club's popularity in the Middle East. The club also denied that PIF had any financial interest in the club, despite the fact that Clearlake, which owns about 60% of Chelsea's shares, previously had a minority investment from PIF.
Boli and Jonathan Goldstein, the two leading figures in the club's ownership structure were linked to separate business ventures involving a huge wealth fund last summer.
Real estate firm Cain International, which lists Goldstein as chief executive officer and Boeli as a board member, launched a $900m (£707m) investment in luxury hotel group Aman with PIF in August.
Chelsea's written commitment to the Premier League last year will assuage rival clubs who have privately raised concerns over the lack of clarity in recent days. Meanwhile, Chelsea launched their multi-club project on Thursday by agreeing to buy a majority stake in Strasbourg.
Reports in France claim Chelsea are paying €75m (£65m) for their majority share package. Many of Europe's top clubs are exploring multi-club ownership systems similar to those used by Manchester City.
The investment in Strasbourg “will accelerate sustainable investment in the growth of the club, including in the first teams and the academy,” the French club added. “This is an important day for Racing,” said Mark Keller, who will remain chairman of the club.
“This is a reflection that my shareholder friends and I have had for two years. We have built a healthy club at all levels and are well run. Even if there were no financial emergency, we knew we had hit the ceiling of our model and that if we were to continue to push racing forward and project it into a new dimension, we absolutely must be accompanied by a strong structure that can support our development and our ambitions.”< /p>
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